Dv. Paramonov et Ms. Elgenk, A REVIEW OF CESIUM THERMIONIC CONVERTERS WITH DEVELOPED EMITTER SURFACES, Energy conversion and management, 38(6), 1997, pp. 533-549
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Energy & Fuels",Mechanics,"Physics, Nuclear",Thermodynamics
Studies from U.S. and Russian literature on experimental and theoretic
al investigations of thermionic converters with developed emitter surf
aces are reviewed and analyzed. Experimental data for these converters
is compared with that for close-spaced and traditional Cs are convert
ers. The former is most advantageous at low temperatures from 1300 to
1700 K, with the power gain increasing as the emitter temperature decr
eases and/or its emission properties deteriorate. This power gain is a
ttainable at a larger load voltage and significantly larger optimum in
terelectrode gap size than traditional converters. Additional experime
nts and mathematical modeling are needed to understand the physical pr
ocesses taking place and assess the performance of thermionic converte
rs with developed emitter surfaces as compared to traditional ones ope
rating under identical conditions. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.